On this Ash Wednesday, the liturgy brings to our reflection three cornerstones of the Lenten season that is beginning.

The focus is on discreet charity, on prayer in hiddenness, on fasting from sin combined with bodily fasting, attested by a joyful countenance.

The Poor Man of Assisi, after his initial conversion, never ceased meditating on Jesus' forty days in the desert, before his public life, and constantly thought of the Passover of the Lamb sacrificed for our redemption.

Francis lived his entire existence according to a penitential style, never allowing form to dominate over substance; implementing the Word in a wise human and spiritual balance, synonymous with inner stature.

He was hard on himself, but tender and compassionate with the brothers who exceeded in debilitating fasts.

In the Sources we read:

"Francis reproached his brothers who were too hard on themselves, and who reached exhaustion by dint of vigils, fasts, prayers and corporal penances.

Some in fact, in order to repress the ardour of their senses, inflicted torments on themselves so cruel that they seemed to be driven by suicide.

The man of God forbade such excesses, admonishing those brothers lovingly and calling them to common sense, healing their wounds with the medicine of wise instructions" (FF 1470).

He continually brought Christ's Passion to mind and called for mortification.

"If he was at table with people of the world and they offered him food to his taste, he would barely taste it, making some excuse so that they would not notice that he was depriving himself of it out of penance.

And eating with the brothers, he often put ashes on the food, saying, to disguise his abstinence: 'Sister ashes is chaste!

But also, out of love for the brothers, he knew how to make himself one with their needs and weaknesses.

"Although, then, with all his strength he encouraged the brothers to an austere life, he did not like that intransigent severity that does not cover the heart of piety and is not seasoned with the salt of discretion.

One friar, due to excessive fasting, could not sleep at all one night, tormented as he was by hunger. Realising the pitiful shepherd that his sheep was in danger, he called the friar over, put some bread in front of him and, to prevent him from blushing, he began to eat first, while gently inviting the other to eat" (FF 1095).

So the brother banished his shame and contentedly took food.

Francis' vigilance and condescension had prevented the friar's body from being harmed, giving him cause for great edification.

In the morning, explaining the incident to his sons, he said to them:

«To you brethren, let not food but charity be an example» (FF 1095).

The Minim was animated by a strong contemplative sense.

Celano, in the Second Life, informs us:

"He was not so much a praying man as he himself was transformed into living prayer" (FF 681).

He was always looking for secluded spaces where he could be united with Christ.

"And if he suddenly felt visited by the Lord, so as not to be without a cell, he made himself a small one with his cloak.

And if at times he was without it, he would cover his face with his sleeve, so as not to reveal the hidden manna" (FF 681).

«When you pray, enter into your chamber, and shut your door [Is 26:20; 2 Kings 4:33] pray to your Father, who [is] in secret» (Mt 6:6)

That conversion, which began for the Poverello when he stopped worshipping himself (as the Sources say), lasted for the whole of his life, fading in the three directions described and suggested by the Gospel.

«But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret, and your Father who looks in secret will [render] it to you» (Mt 6:3-4)

Ash Wednesday  (Mt 6:1-6.16-18)

Even Francis, when he was still in the world and faced with the unravelling of his specific call from the Lord [and subsequent conversion] had to struggle against Herod's leaven: lust for power and glory.

It was God, then, who enlightened him and made him distance himself from what was leading him astray.

"A nobleman from Assisi, eager for money and glory, took up arms to go and fight in Apulia. On hearing of this, Francis was seized with a thirst for adventure. So, in order to be created a knight by a certain Count Gentile, he prepares a trousseau of precious cloths; for if he was less rich than his fellow citizen, he was, however, more generous than him in spending [...]" (FF 1399).

But the Lord, knowing him to be so eager for glory and power, visited him with a vision.

While he was sleeping, a man appeared to him who, calling him by name, led him to a beautiful palace where weapons and objects of warfare were seen hanging on the wall.

Francis asked to whom all these things and the palace belonged. He was answered that it all belonged to him and his knights.

He woke up, all happy, interpreting the dream according to worldly criteria. Having not yet fully tasted the spirit of God, he imagined he would become a prince.

So, interpreting it as an omen of good fortune, he wanted to leave for Apulia, to be created a knight by that Count.

When he arrived in Spoleto, he began to feel unwell and in his sleep he heard a voice asking him where he was going. Francis told him of his ambitious project.

"He said, «Who can be of more use to you: the master or the servant?» He answered: «The master».

The One resumed: «Why then do you abandon the master to follow the servant, and the prince for the subject?»

Then Francis asked, «Lord, what do you want me to do?»

Concluded the voice: «Return to your city and there you will be told what you must do; for the vision that has appeared to you must be interpreted in a different sense».

[...] The morning dawned and in great haste he diverted his horse to Assisi, happy and exultant" (FF 1401).

Thus Francis abandoned the leaven of Herod to adhere to Christ, becoming its great Herald, courageous and tenacious.

Tuesday 6th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 8,14-21)

In the verses from Mark's Gospel, Jesus is disgusted by the hypocritical Pharisees, who start arguing with Him asking for a sign from heaven to test Him, after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

All this causes a deep disappointment in Christ.

Francis of Assisi followed Jesus not because of the wonders that the Lord performed but by Faith; won over by his Gospel, by the Beatitudes enunciated on the Mount, by his having died and risen again - for him.

This had attracted him and made him fall in love with the bare Gospel parable, without 'ifs' and 'buts'.

The Sources, the jewel of the Franciscan path, help us to understand.

«Therefore all those who saw the Lord Jesus according to humanity, but did not see or believe, according to the spirit and divinity, that he is the true Son of God, are condemned».

And so now all those who see the sacrament, which is sanctified through the words of the Lord above the altar in the hands of the priest, under the species of bread and wine, and do not see nor believe, according to the spirit and divinity, that he is truly the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned, for it is The Most High Himself who bears witness to this, when He says:

«This is my body and blood of the new covenant [which will be shed for many]», and again:

«Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life» (FF 142).

If the Presence of the Son of God is not enough to make one believe, what other sign can be given to this generation?

Francis' faith is the best response to worldly insipience.

«And the Lord gave me so much faith in the churches, that I simply prayed» and said:

«We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, even in all your churches which are throughout the whole world, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world» (FF 111 - Testament of St Francis).

This is the only Sign!

«And He groaning in His spirit says: Why does this generation seek a sign?» (Mk 8:12a)

Monday, 6th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 8,11-13)

This Sunday's long passage, taken from the Gospel of Matthew, addresses various themes.

Among these is the urgency of overcoming the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees by carefully doing God's will.

Almost without realising it, Francis was a great spiritual teacher.

By grace, he was convinced that justice always goes hand in hand with mercy.

A justice far removed from grim rigidity, eager to express itself in the fulfilment of God's will, always respecting one's brother.

The Franciscan Sources teach us a great deal about this.

"If it ever happened that a brother uttered a word that could hurt someone, his remorse would not allow him to rest until he confessed his mistake, humbly throwing himself to the ground and begging the offended party to put his foot on his mouth.

If that brother refused to do so, when the offender was his superior, he commanded him to put his foot on his mouth; when he was a subject, he had the person in charge order him to do so.

In this way, the friars committed themselves to banishing all resentment and incompatibility and to preserving mutual love intact.

They did everything possible to replace every vice with the corresponding virtue, inspired and assisted in this by the Grace of Jesus Christ" (FF 1449).

Justice and Mercy are to be sought, to be asked of God first and foremost in prayer and silence, for a new heart is a gift from the Lord, a continuous exodus.

In the Rule of the Hermits, written by Francis, we read:

«And these [the friars] shall have a cloister, in which each shall have his own little cell, in which he can pray and sleep [...] and they shall rise for matins, and first of all seek the kingdom of God and his Justice» (FF 137).

In the same Praises of God Most High, Francis emphasises that God is Justice:

«[...] You are Justice,

You are temperance,

You are all our wealth in sufficiency» (FF 261).

The Poor man, knowing that the Lord-Justice called for more than just a manner of justice, worked tirelessly for the Kingdom of Heaven and tried to teach his friars to do the same.

He never forgot that mercy always prevails in God's judgement.

«For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven» (Mt 5:20).

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A  (Mt 5:17-37)

«And he sent two by two before him into every city and place where he was about to go» (Lk 10:1).

This passage from the Gospel of Luke was well impressed in the memory of Francis of Assisi and, preparing his brothers for the mission, he expressed it thus:

"In the name of the Lord, go two by two through the streets, with dignity, keeping silence from morning until after the third hour, praying in your hearts to the Lord.

No frivolous and vacuous talk among yourselves, for although you are on the way, your behaviour must be as collected as if you were in a hermitage or in a cell.

Wherever we are or move, we take our cell with us: brother body; the soul is the hermit who dwells in it to pray to God and meditate.

And if the soul does not live serenely and solitarily in its cell, very little use is served to the religious by a cell erected by the hand of man" (FF 1636).

Thus prepared, the brothers went out to announce the Good News.

In the Sources we read again:

"He insisted that the brothers should not judge anyone, nor look down on those who live in luxury [...] for God is our Lord and theirs, and he has the power to call them to himself and to make them righteous [...].

And he added: 'Such must be the behaviour of the brothers in the midst of the people, that whoever hears and sees them, may be led to glorify and praise the heavenly Father'.

It was his fervent wish that both he and the brothers should abound in good works, by which the Lord is praised. And he said:

"The peace you proclaim with your mouth, have it even more abundantly in your hearts.

Do not provoke anyone to anger or scandal, but let all be drawn to peace, goodness, concord by your meekness.

This is our vocation: to heal the wounds, to bind up the broken, to call back the lost.

Many, who seem to us members of the devil, may one day become disciples of Christ" (FF 1469).

The Poor Man of Assisi, before communicating the Word of God to the people, wished for peace, saying:

"May the Lord give you Peace" (FF 359).

This he always announced with great devotion to those who came to him.

And it often happened that, with God's grace, the enemies of Peace and of their own salvation became children of Peace.

Preaching and healing the sick he met, he would say:

«The kingdom of God is at hand» (Lk 10:9).

Many were thus urged to repent and follow Christ and disciple Him.

St Cyril and Methodius, 14 February  (Lk 10:1-9)

Mark recounts the healing of a deaf man who stutters: Jesus calls him aside, puts his fingers in his ears and touches his tongue with saliva.

Even the witnesses of the Word of God, those who resemble Christ in life, are made capable of healing the sick of all kinds by Him.

Francis had this charisma from God. We read in the Sources:

"In Città della Pieve there was a young beggar, deaf and mute from birth. His tongue was so short and thin that it seemed to be cut off at the root [...].

A certain Mark gave him hospitality for the love of God, and the young man, feeling that he loved him, made a habit of staying with him.

One evening during dinner, Mark said to his wife in the presence of the young man:

"If blessed Francis would give this boy back his hearing and speech, that would be a great miracle".

Then he added: "I vow to God that if Francis deigns to perform this miracle, I will keep this boy at my own expense all his life".

A truly marvellous thing: at that very instant the boy's tongue swelled and he began to speak, saying: 'Glory to God and St Francis, who have given me hearing and speech!

Yes, the Lord does everything well, always!

He gives his prophets what they sensitively attest with their lives, transforming them into splinters of Light for the path of many.

The Lord also uses his friends for those who do not want to hear and obey the Word, bringing them back to listening.

In the Sources we find a significant episode, taken from the Second Life of Celano.

"Another friar did not want to obey the Saint's vicar, but followed a confrere as his superior.

The Saint, who was present, admonished him by means of a third person, and he threw himself at the feet of the vicar and, leaving the master whom he had chosen, promised obedience to the one whom the Saint assigned to him as his superior.

Francis heaved a deep sigh, and turned to his companion, whom he had sent to warn him:

"I saw, brother," he said to him, "on the back of the disobedient friar a devil clasped around his neck.

Subdued and held in bridle by such a knight, after having shaken the bite of obedience, he let himself be led by his will and whim.

But when I prayed to the Lord for him, immediately the demon turned away in confusion'.

So penetrating was this man's gaze, that although he had weak eyes for material things, he had discerning ones for the spirit [...].

There is, I say, no other choice: either to carry a light burden, by which you yourself will rather be carried, or to be a slave to iniquity" (FF 620).

«He has done all things well, and makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak» (Mk 7:37)

Friday 5th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 7,31-37)

In the passage from Mark, the sincere and indomitable faith of a Syro-Phoenician woman is narrated, who asks and obtains from Jesus - precisely by Faith - the deliverance of her little daughter.

The Holy Spirit has a way of bestowing charisms on the small and simple; thus He gave Francis the healing power from many evils and the power of deliverance from the evil one, the tyrant of so many creatures.

Wisdom, which is nobler than all motion and penetrates everywhere by its purity, communicates itself to holy souls and forms friends of God and prophets. Thus in the soul of the Poor Man.

The Sources illustrate numerous healings and deliverances of the possessed by Francis, and describe the growing faith in those who had received the saving gift.

Yes, because the evangelical consequence of these healings is the extensive manifestation of people's active belief, in a sincere and humble manner.

We read in the Sources:

"Once the Saint appeared to a woman from Narni, who was furious and so out of her mind that she did and said frightful and filthy things, and said to her:

«Make a sign of the cross».

She replied that she was prevented from doing so.

Then Francis himself impressed it on her forehead, and instantly she was freed from madness and all demonic influence.

Countless have been the unhappy men and women who, tormented in various ways and by manifold deceptions by demons, were delivered by virtue of the merits of the glorious father" (FF 555).

Francis was very attentive to the ills of the people he met.

He was often seized with great compassion when he saw a creature asking for help in an exasperated and insistent manner.

The documentation of the Sources is permeated by this tenacious and humble logic of the Saint, who, even before the concrete fact, perceived in his innermost being the profound need for the complete salvation of the other.

He believed, in fact, that when a man takes pity on another man, there, God is resurrected, and the Good News is proclaimed.

«For this word of yours, go; the devil has gone out from your daughter» (Mk 7:29)

Thursday, 5th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 7,24-30)

Jesus teaches the crowd and explains: what makes one impure is what comes from the heart.

Francis, pure in heart, transparent in his intentions and intentions, had also introduced in the Admonitions he wrote a clear guiding call for his brothers - on the merits of behaviour.

In the Sources:

«When we live according to the flesh, the devil wants to take away from us the love of [our Lord] Jesus Christ and eternal life, and wants to lose himself with everyone in hell; for we through our own fault are ignoble, miserable, and contrary to good, ready instead and willing for evil, because, as the Lord says in the Gospel: Out of the heart proceed and come forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, impudiciousness, envy, false witness, blasphemy, [pride], foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within the heart of man, and it is these things that defile man.

Now instead, since we have left the world, we have nothing to do but to follow the will of the Lord and to please Him alone» (FF 57).

In this way he instructed his brothers in the way of purity.

And in the Vita Prima of Celano, regarding his brothers:

"And this is what they always used to do when they came to him; they did not hide even the slightest thought and involuntary motions of their souls from him, and after having accomplished all that was commanded them, they still considered themselves useless servants.

And truly «purity of heart» filled that first group of the blessed Francis' disciples to such a degree that, although they knew how to do useful, holy and upright things, they showed themselves utterly incapable of drawing vain pleasure from them.

Then blessed Francis, clasping his sons to himself with great love, began to manifest to them his plan and what the Lord had revealed to him" (FF 370).

Magnificence of the little ones!

«What comes out of man, that makes man unclean» (Mk 7:20)

Wednesday 5th wk. in O.T.  (Mk 7,14-23)